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| - Mary Lou McDonald's leadership has transformed Sinn Fein into a party deemed worthy of power in Ireland, rather than merely the political voice of the IRA. Under her direction, Sinn Fein topped the first preference votes in Ireland's general election with 24.5 percent -- a 10.7 percentage point boost from the leftist party's showing in 2016. After final results were declared Tuesday, it became Ireland's second-largest parliamentary party and McDonald is now hoping to lead Sinn Fein into office in a coalition. "We want to talk to anyone who is interested in delivering a programme for government," she told national broadcaster RTE. "A government that people relate to, that is in tune with the realities of people's day-to-day lives, not one that is aloof and adrift from the experiences of citizens." McDonald, 50, represents a break from the past, emerging from the shadow of long-time former leader Gerry Adams and ties to the now-defunct Irish Republican Army paramilitary group. Her change of emphasis, focusing on domestic issues like housing shortages and the cost of living, seems to have struck a chord, particularly with voters fed up with the status quo and too young to remember the darkest days of Ireland's recent past. Adams, 71, who has always denied allegations that he was a senior figure in the IRA, led Sinn Fein from 1983 to 2018, dominating the party through the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland and the 1990s peace process. Unlike Adams, who grew up in the sectarian cauldron of west Belfast, McDonald came from a well-to-do neighbourhood in Dublin. After private Catholic school, she studied English literature at Trinity College Dublin then did a master's degree in European integration at the University of Limerick. The mother of two was a member of the centre-right Fianna Fail party before leaving in 1998. She first ran for Sinn Fein in 2002, standing unsuccessfully in Dublin West, but became the party's first member of the European Parliament representing a seat in the Republic in 2004. She became the party's deputy leader in 2009 and in 2011 won a seat in the Irish parliament, representing Dublin Central. Promoted by Adams over the years, she became his designated successor as party president and other major figures either stood aside or lent their support. Eoin O'Malley, a DCU associate professor in political science, said Sinn Fein under McDonald's leadership had not tried to distance itself from IRA violence. He said the party had instead tried to make it appear mainstream in the context of a long fight for Irish independence. Sinn Fein's primary objective is Irish reunification, bringing Northern Ireland out of the United Kingdom and into the Republic of Ireland. It is now the biggest party across the entire island of Ireland and pressure for a promised referendum on Irish unity will be high on McDonald's list in any coalition. Few had forecast the Sinn Fein surge -- including, it seems, McDonald herself -- after a dismal showing at local and European elections last year. The party fielded just 42 general election candidates in the 39 multi-member constituencies, not enough for an outright majority in parliament. Just over a week ago, McDonald -- seen as personable and an accomplished television performer -- was belatedly allowed to take part in a televised leaders' debate after strong polling. O'Malley said younger voters were attracted to Sinn Fein's nationalism. "Younger people wouldn't really know exactly what that entailed in the 1970s and 80s," he told AFP. "For people over 45 or maybe over 50 it was always going to be an issue because we can remember IRA violence." bur-rjm/phz/ecl
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